Piano for small hands

[lauridson]

I am a female intermediate/advanced piano student. I have had difficulty playing pieces requiring a hand spread of an octave or more. My hand spread is 7 1/4 inches. I own an upright Yamaha. I have read about the 7/8 keyboard. Does anyone know anything about these pianos? I live in Montgomery, Alabama and would like to try one out. Additionally, are there portable 7/8 keyboards available that might be worth considering purchasing? I feel sure I could create a much better sound and I would enjoy playing more if I didn't have to struggle with my small hands and shorter finger length.

[hfmadopter]

I am a female intermediate/advanced piano student. I have had difficulty playing pieces requiring a hand spread of an octave or more. My hand spread is 7 1/4 inches. I own an upright Yamaha. I have read about the 7/8 keyboard. Does anyone know anything about these pianos? I live in Montgomery, Alabama and would like to try one out. Additionally, are there portable 7/8 keyboards available that might be worth considering purchasing? I feel sure I could create a much better sound and I would enjoy playing more if I didn't have to struggle with my small hands and shorter finger length.

The reduced size is not so much a special piano as it is a reduced size keyboard retrofitted to an existing piano as I understand it. The Steinbuhler company can do this for a sweet $7800. a tech would remove the keyboard from an existing piano and ship off to Steinbuhler where they physically build the smaller keyboard as a retrofit to the piano.

Now years ago when I had a teacher her hands were small, in fact she was small. She got all over that keyboard with small arthritic hands though. She found ways to compensate, like pivoting to reach octaves etc.

There may well be a reduced span electronc keyboard that I'm not aware of though. I'd suggest calling a place like sweetwater.com or Kraft Music where all they know is electronics and music..

[johnmar78]

here you go Mrs(Miss) Laurison..

https://www.carolleone.com/78-size-keyboard/

Have your own 7/8 piano and do your concert on your piano just like Richard Clayderman.

Cheers

[lauridson]

Thank you for the helpful responses from hfmadoter and johnmar78. You have helped me launch  more knowledgeable research.

[justharmony]

Just an interesting "fun fact"... keyboards were not always as big as they are now (neither were people, for that matter). There may be times when even the person who wrote the piece would not be able to reach the span on the modern grand. 

Not that that helps you in a practical sense, but maybe there's some reassurance in knowing that it's not all just you. 

JH

[lauridson]

I appreciate knowing this. It is psychologically helpful. Thank you for your supportive reassurance.

[hfmadopter]

I appreciate knowing this. It is psychologically helpful. Thank you for your supportive reassurance.

I'm about 80% sure that if my hands were not large enough to span an octave I would split the ocatave playing the two notes arpeggiated. The other 20% is for dropping one note or picking up a note with the other hand. If I had the money to spend I'd think about the reduced size keyboard for my grand. I can do a lot of practicing so as not to spend $7800, but that's just me.

I fully understand the limitation in this though, I play octaves a lot in my re-arranging of popular pieces, they add some needed depth and or volume sometimes and I reach them fine. Of course we all play them in various pieces written that way. But as it is I have to sneak up on a tenth , it takes a shift of the hand to span it well and a minute part of a second to get there. As I said earlier, my old piano teacher some 30 years ago now had small arthritic hands and played like that beautifully. In 50 years of piano she just adapted. Often an octave has a harmonic interval or counter melody in the middle, you can pivot on that harmonic to reach the upper or lower octave. In time it becomes natural. As I said I kind of sneak up on tenths that way. No sense straining the hands though trying to make the stretch, that's silly IMO. A touch of pedal helps you get there.

There have been a few rather famous lady performers with small hands incidentally, who had to do work arounds on the keys to perform great works.

Any luck in speaking with Kraft Music or Sweetwater about digital pianos that might meet your needs ?
Best regards,
David

[lauridson]

David,
Thank you for your helpful suggestions in your second paragraph. I may need to just do more experimenting with ways to compensate for my short reaches. I have also been thinking about what might happen if I practice on a 7/8 keyboard at home and then have my lessons and auditions on the universal keyboards.

I have been studying the Kraft and Sweetwater websites and will give them a call. I am also going to go down to our local music store and play a digital 7/8 keyboard they have and then compare the difference with one of their acoustic pianos.
Thank you again for your help. 

[hfmadopter]

David,
Thank you for your helpful suggestions in your second paragraph. I may need to just do more experimenting with ways to compensate for my short reaches. I have also been thinking about what might happen if I practice on a 7/8 keyboard at home and then have my lessons and auditions on the universal keyboards.

I have been studying the Kraft and Sweetwater websites and will give them a call. I am also going to go down to our local music store and play a digital 7/8 keyboard they have and then compare the difference with one of their acoustic pianos.
Thank you again for your help. 

Sounds like you are moving along on this problem, one way or another ! You are so correct about playing other instruments, my teacher played out for many years and was also a church organist at the same time I studied with were. She had a full sized keyboard Steinway in her teaching studio.

Now , if you were ever so lucky to become say, a female Horowitz type figure, you could have your altered grand piano shipped all over the world to perform with !

I see no harm in the digital piano with a 7/8 keyboard ( I didn't know they made them that's why I said inquire with someone like Kraft etc. who would know about it if anyone would).

Glad you are making headway. Keep us informed !
David

[alleng]

Although this is an older topic,  I would appreciate it if someone who knows of a 7/8 size digital piano (as mentioned in one of the posts) could give some information on the manufacturer and possibly a model number.  This would probably be of interest to others also.  Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

[minifingers]

 I did find this link which may be helpful.

https://www.paskpiano.org/accessing-smaller-keyboards.html

Having a hand span of only 7 inches myself I feel your pain. I also did considerable research into narrower keyed pianos and concluded that they were way out of my price range. I really really wish someone would produce an affordable digital piano with 7/8th keys. Maybe one day it will happen!